Author and host of the hit OUTDOOR CHANNEL show SHOOTING GALLERY spouts off...

Monday, January 18, 2010

SHOT 2010 Range Day!

One down...4 to go! No pixs because we shot video like crazy people today...some initial impressions.

• I'll be damned, but the 4th Gen Glock is a significant improvement...the combination of a slightly smaller base gripframe and the double spring recoil system translates into a more shootable, less-felt-recoil gun. Honest! I ran a bunch of magazines through the 4th Gen G17 9mm and am impressed enough to buy one...and that says a lot. My Sweetie, who has never been happy shooting a Glock, absolutely rocked with the 4GG17. Will have one for T&E ASAP, and I've already told Glock I'd be keeping it.

• Beretta's "home defense" shotgun is a pleasant surprise. The ancient company's first personal defense shotgun in 25 years is based on their new semiauto platform and is light light light. The gas systems sucks up the recoil, though, as good or better than my sporting clays Win X2. The Beretta gas system is also amazingly forgiving — we ran Federal LE slugs, Fed 9-pellet tactical buckshot and low brass field loads without a blip.

• The new Winchester .410 PDX1 self-defense rounds are incredible out of the Taurus Judge snub! The 3 "self-defense disks" stacked on top of 12 BBs may be the best round ever for the diminutive shotshell. I found the disk to actually group excellent at 5 yard targets, with the BBs adding that extra special loving touch.

• No love on ammo...I talked to one of the most knowledgeable people in the industry, and he didn't offer me much comfort...we're looking at at least another year of this, maybe longer: "It's going to be loosening up as more imports fill the military ammo niche, but it's not going to go back to the way it was," he said.

• The next generation of the Barrett 98B .338 Lapua is a significant step forward. They had the proto at the range, and even sad and pathetic me was able to make 800-yard shots. The proto with its stainless steel match barrel was suppressed, which truly helps.

25 comments:

Hmmm...I bet the 4G17/G22 will be a big hit with competition shooters too....Michael, I even know of a HK owner who bought a 4G22. He would not admit to favoring the 22 over his P30 but he did admit that the newest generation from Glock was going to give S&W and others a run for their money....

Hey Michael! I follow the blog a lot and love to watch you on the best defense. Could you post some info on the Ruger booth? They recently announced the Two reevolvers in .327, and the SR9c compact version. Supposedly they have a few more guns up their sleeves for Tuesday!

Keep up the great work! Can't wait until I can go to SHOT show someday.

I hate to be a party pee-er, but I just bought the 2010 Glock "Annual" magazine that featured the new Gen-4 Glock on the cover and in the issue. In the photos of the gun with the grip "insert" on, it looks like the added piece fits as good as a greasy hairpiece. It doesn't lay flat to the grip at the top, adjacent to the attachment pin. It looks like a lint-trap in the least, but also a point that might snag on things when used in concealment. Yeah, I know, I'm nit-picking and I haven't handled a gun yet, but I would expect more from the best handgun maker in the world. The insert looks like an after-thought. Now flame me!Life Member

Bad news from Texas; Local cops threaten to confiscate property unless gun show is shut down. I can't find an email for Michael. So I'll post as much as I can here.

Sadly, it appears that the other shoe has dropped. Please refer to the news bulletin below. I didn't attend this show but it is where I live. It now appears that the chief of police has decided to use the police power of the state to end gun shows. He is a recent transplant from Kalifornia. I will be writing city council, but they are as liberal as the head cop, so I doubt I will get any action. The "multiple arrests" described in the release were, according to the Public Information Officer for APD, a total of 12. Over a year. During which 12 shows were held and probably 250,000 people attended the shows. Any suggestions would be welcome.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJanuary 19, 2010Contact: Public Information Office, 974-5017Gun Shows at 10601 North Lamar BoulevardFederal Immigration, Customs, and Enforcement (ICE) agents workedcooperatively with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives(ATF) agents last year in a long-term operation targeting illegal gun trafficking thatwas stemming from local gun shows. Austin Police Department Firearm ReviewUnit detectives assisted in the Austin portion of the operation. They observed andparticipated in multiple arrests of prohibited persons (primarily convicted felonsand illegal immigrants) that obtained firearms illegally at a local gun show.Federal convictions were obtained in a majority of the cases.Virtually all of these sales to prohibited persons were made by unlicensed dealersor private citizens, both inside the gun show and in the parking lot of the gunshow. While the sale of firearms between private citizens is not illegal, theanonymity of these sales in or around the event created an easy avenue for illegalimmigrants or convicted felons to acquire firearms. Because of this recurringactivity at a single location, the Firearm Review Unit referred the case over to theAPD Nuisance Abatement Unit.Due to the history of criminal activity at the gun show, the Nuisance AbatementUnit scheduled a meeting between the property lessee (HEB Grocery), thebuilding sub-lessee (Andrew Perkel a.k.a Austin Market Place), the eventpromoter (Darwin Boedecker-Texas Gun Shows) and ATF. During this meeting,APD along with ATF offered to all parties, recommendations to curb the illegalactivity that had been documented in the past. At the conclusion of the meetingthe lessee agreed that the recommendations should be followed and instructedtheir sub-lessee to follow the recommendations. The sub-lessee then informedthe event promoter to implement the recommendations at the next show. Therecommendations that the lessee directed the sub-lessee and the event promoterto follow were:1. Only licensed gun dealers are allowed to sell firearms at the gun shows2. The promoter will provide on-site security to prevent parking lot gun salesPublic Information Office: (512) 974-5017 715 E. 8th St. Austin, Texas 78701www.ci.austin.tx.us/police3. The promoter will define a process for people other than licensed dealers thatshow up with a gun that they want to sellThere was an understanding that the January 16-17, 2010 gun show would followthese recommendations.Media Advisory: APD personnel will be available for an interview at 3:00 pm todayat the headquarters building. Please call PIO if you plan to attend.

Ericire12,The new Gen4 Glocks appear not to have an interchangeable backstrat because, well, they don't, if you start with the "SF", or short-frame configuration. The SF size is just a plain Glock pistol, with a solid grip frame. To get to the medium and large size grip configurations, the inserts are added on from there. That's where I think that Glock could have done a better job.I also think that the new interchangeable mag' release button is too square and sharp for an already de-horned gun.Don't get me wrong, I love Glocks and believe that they are the best all-around semi-auto handgun of the Twentieth Century. I just think that sometimes, in the spirit of improvement, we may actually go backwards. In this case, poor execution affects function.Since I was in the market for a new Glock, I'll pop for the older version, or maybe a new RTF/Rough-Textured-Finish model that still has the older grip design and mag' release.Life Member

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